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food Fried Loins of Norwegian Cod with Baked Root Vegetables and Garlic Foam Ingredients Fish 2 pounds loin of Norwegian fresh cod, with skin 4 cloves garlic 2 branches thyme 4 tablespoons butter Vegetables 2 carrots 2 celeriac ½ turnip cabbage 2 parsley roots 2 tablespoons butter 2 tablespoons olive oil 2 branches thyme 4 cloves garlic Norway’s World Champion Chef by eli havn Twenty-eight-year-old Geir Skeie from Fitjar on the west coast of Norway has won the world championship for chefs – Bocuse d’Or 2009. The competition is held every two years in Lyon, France, and is the most recognized competition in the business. “It is a good feeling when everything comes together,” Skeie said. Each of the 24 contestants had to produce five dishes in five hours, and the set ingredients for the fish dish were Norwegian scallops, cod, and prawns. This corresponded well with Skeie’s food philosophy. He revealed that he prefers to cook with local ingredients – a secret to his success: “Norwegian seafood is very good, both wild and farmed. I really like local vegetables, and try to use whatever is in season,” he stated. Cooking has been Skeie’s passion since he started out in the kitchen at home at the age of 13. After winning Bocuse d’Or 2009, he exclaimed: “Cooking became even more fun after I won the competition, and now I will get to travel more too.” Last year he focused all his attention on the championship, but now he will go back to his job as chef at Mathuset Solvold, a restaurant in Sandefjord in southern Norway. Fancy cooking is not all Skeie does. The top chef stated that he is inspired by the simplicity and cleanliness of the Norwegian food tradition and likes that there is “no extra fuss about it.” According to Skeie, Fårikål, the unofficial Norwegian national dish, with lamb, cabbage, and whole black pepper, is a favorite. Foam 20 ounces fish stock 7 ounces cream 2 tablespoons melted butter 4 cloves garlic 12 scalded almonds 3.5 ounces dry white wine Preparation Fry the fish, skin down in vegetable oil in a frying pan on medium heat until almost finished (8 to 10 minutes). Sprinkle butter, garlic, and thyme over the fish, turn the fish, and fry for 30 seconds before serving. Peel the root vegetables and cut in same sized pieces. Drizzle with oil, butter, garlic, thyme, salt, and pepper. Bake in oven at 325 degrees Fahrenheit until tender. Slice garlic and fry until golden with almonds and vegetable oil. Add white wine and fish stock and bring to a boil. Add cream and boil for another 5 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste. Mix in blender before serving. PHOTOS BY PAAL-ANDRÉ SCHWITAL 12 | www.norway.org/food
ooks The Conqueror “ by anahita yousefi Even though life is lived forward, it is always understood backward. You turn around and behold – in awe or fear – a pattern that you are not aware of having made,” Jan Kjærstad offers in his latest novel published in the United States, “The Conqueror.” Jonas Wergeland is in prison for the murder of his wife – a beloved and celebrated television personality in Norway. Wergeland’s programs on the history of Norway hold the country in his thrall. A professor is hired to write the definitive biography of Wergeland, but finds himself unable to process the astonishing volume of contradictory information he unearths – until a mysterious woman appears on his doorstep. Possessing innumerable intimate stories about Jonas, the woman details the dark side of his rise to prominence, and through her stories tries to explain what made him a murderer. Kjærstad’s latest novel offers a compelling story as well as insight into Norwegian cultural life during the past 50 years. With a series of references to historical characters and events, the novel serves as an introduction to contemporary Norwegian society. The rise of the welfare state and emergence of the mediated society are the backdrop to which this story is told. Although the novel plays on Norwegian cultural life, it remains appealing to a wider audience through its reflections on universal themes. Combining the fictional with the factual, Kjærstad invites the reader to reflect upon the art of storytelling itself and consider all the elements that makes up a story. Fact, fiction, coherence, and contradiction melt together in a series of short, seemingly unordered chapters. This gives the narrative a form that reinforces the questioning and curiosity toward the given that is displayed throughout the novel. “The Conqueror” is the second book in the trilogy about Jonas Wergeland that consists of “The Seducer,” “The Conqueror,” and “The Discoverer.” Kjærstad is one of Scandinavia’s most prominent contemporary authors. He made his debut in 1980 with a collection of short stories titled, “The Earth Turns Quietly.” Over the years, he has written a number of novels, short stories, and essays and received numerous prizes. He was awarded the Norwegian Literary Critics Association’s Prize in 1984 for “Homo Falsus” (“The Perfect Murder”). Kjærstad was also honored with the prestigious Henrik Steffens Prize in 1998, given to Scandinavians who have significantly enriched Europe's artistic and intellectual life. In 2001, he won the Nordic Council’s Prize for Literature for “The Discoverer,” the last book in the Wergeland trilogy, which will be published in the United States in 2009. “The Conqueror,” the second book in Jan Kjærstad's trilogy, was published in the United States by Open Letter in February, 2009. PHOTOS BY WWW.OPENLETTERBOOKS.ORG spring 2009 | news of norway | 13
Page 1 and 2: 1 2009 spring news of norway film i
Page 3 and 4: film PHOTO COURTESY OF NORWEGIAN FI
Page 5 and 6: los angeles celebrates 10 years of
Page 7 and 8: film worth the ride by anne myklebu
Page 9 and 10: debut in her to 31- en nal ave she
Page 11: society & policy PHOTO BY SIRI WOLL
Page 15 and 16: calendar PHOTO BY WWW.KNUTERIKJENSE

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